


Words: Reunion

by bekeleven



Series: Words that we Couldn't Say [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Drama, Gen, Speech Disorders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-22 11:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6077475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bekeleven/pseuds/bekeleven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neo, RNJR, Blake and Qrow all head to Mistral to stop something terrible from happening. Each has a surprise in store.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blake Says

It was Blake's first time in Mistral.

Adam had spoken of it, in his rare bouts of wistfulness. It's wasn't an emotion he wore comfortably. The mere act of staying still tended to cramp him, to say nothing to looking back. _Find a target and charge. Maybe he gets it from bulls._

_Got it from bulls._

The past tense being the reason for Blake's current errand. She slid open the shutter and crawled through. She didn't catch a single frill on the shards of broken glass around the window's borders.

_Maybe I get it from cats._

Once inside, she lowered herself to the floor and stood up. The room was mostly empty. A small table in one corner, missing a leg, leaning to one side. Next to it, a door on one hinge leading to the dilapidated hallway. On the opposite wall, a threadbare bed with no sheets. A perfectly average room to find in an abandoned building. Even most squatters wouldn't give it a second glance.

Which was why it was chosen by the woman lying in the bed. It was Blake's fourth try. _Finally_. The woman lay on her back, legs straight, eyes closed, arms crossed across her chest, holding something flat. Her outfit was white, pink, and brown, to match her hair. Blake had seen her twice before. Both times helping Roman Torchwick. Once, almost killing Yang. Blake's partner she'd been too _busy_ to defend.

Blake placed Gambol Shroud to the woman's neck. "Wake up. I have questions."

Slowly, the woman raised her hands. The item she was clutching was a scroll, and it was on. On the screen were the words, ʏᴏᴜ sᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɢʟᴀss ɢᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ɪɴ.

Was it a trap? Did she hear Blake coming? Did she just have that message ready all the time when she slept? Despite the weather, Blake started to sweat.

"Listen, I just want answers and then I'll let you go, so..." Blake pressed down on her neck to give the woman's aura a buzz. Instead, her entire body shattered into shards of glass.

A semblance, one she'd seen before. Blake spun. The woman was sitting on the broken table, which with her weight was leaning precariously to one side. She held her scroll in her left hand and typed more, not even looking at Blake. Blake drew Gambol out fully, realized she was just doing to to reassure herself, and lowered her hands down to her waist.

The woman showed Blake her newest message. She'd increased the text size, to accommodate the new distance. ɪ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ᴍʏ ʟᴀsᴛ ᴍᴇssᴀɢᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴘʀᴇᴛᴛʏ ᴄʟᴇᴀʀ.

"How would you kill Adam Taurus?"

She went back to her scroll. Taking her eyes off of Blake _again_. Blake's hands tightened. It would be _so easy_...

ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʜɪᴛ ʜɪs sᴡᴏʀᴅ ʜᴇ's ɴᴏᴛ ᴛᴏᴏ ʜᴀʀᴅ. ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴏɴᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ's sᴇᴇɴ ʜɪᴍ ғɪɢʜᴛ.

Blake frowned. The woman smiled. You don't become leader of the white fang without knowing how to fight. Not this white fang. Not Adam's white fang. It takes the mightiest to decide that might makes right.

"Fine then." _She doesn't want to say who helped her, or what trick she used, that's fine._ " _Why_ did you kill him? You work with him."

The woman held up a reproachful finger. Blake noticed a dearth of more on her hand, but then she kept typing fast as ever. ᴡᴏʀᴋᴇᴅ, ᴘᴀsᴛ ᴛᴇɴsᴇ. ʟɪᴋᴇ ʏᴏᴜ.

"Like me? _I_ never killed him. I..."

ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴇᴀᴋ. ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ.

"I don't get it." Blake sat down on the bed. Springs creaked. "We're losing. Why switch sides? Why now? Why..." Cinder was pushed back, but they'd lost Beacon. Lost Ozpin. Lost half of Vale. And lost others. People Blake had cared for. Some had died.

ɪ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴅᴏ ɪᴛ ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ ʙʟᴀᴋᴇ ʙᴇʟʟᴀᴅᴏɴɴᴀ. ɪ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴇsᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ.

"And so that's how you tell me." A handwritten note and a horn torn out of her former partner's head. It wasn't a very good overture of peace. It was a message of ignorance and bloodlust. A gun that just happened to fire in the right direction.

ɪᴛ's ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ᴏɴ ʜᴀɴᴅ. Funny, her talking about her hand. It had been fine when she'd fought Yang.

"I think you're lying to me. I don't think you go around killing people you work with and then telling people they were close to and then letting them follow you back to where you sleep." It felt unusual to be the talkative one in a conversation. Somehow, Blake had found her way there by default. "I think you want me to do something. You want me to stop you. Or... you want to kill me too." It felt odd saying it out loud. Blake kept her stance light. Diving through the small window might be hard at speed, but she could break the door off its hinge in a hurry if she had to dash. The more the woman talked... typed, the less Blake liked the matchup.

Alive or dead, Adam was right about that. All she could do was run away.

ɪ ᴛᴏʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ɪᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ. ʜɪs ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ʜᴀs ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏғ ᴍᴇᴀɴɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜ.

"And the horn?"

ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴏʀʀʏ, ʜᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ ᴍᴏsᴛ ᴏғ ɪᴛ. ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ɢɪᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʀᴏᴏғ.

Most. A smile tugged at the corner of the woman's lip. Was she telling the truth? Blake was getting tired of her implications. "His death means a lot to a lot of people."

ɪ ᴛᴏʟᴅ sᴏᴍᴇ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴇʀᴇɴ'ᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇɢᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡʜɪᴛᴇ ғᴀɴɢ's ʟᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ.

Blake's bow twitched as the pieces fell into place. "You _do_ want something from me!"

ᴛʜᴇʏ'ᴠᴇ sᴘʟɪᴛ ɪɴᴛᴏ ғᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs. ᴛʜᴇʏ'ʀᴇ ᴛᴇᴀʀɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇᴍsᴇʟᴠᴇs ᴀᴘᴀʀᴛ. The woman shrugged, her face coy.

"And you want me to go back to them? Why? To unite them?" Why her? Why now?

The woman's expression got much more severe. ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ɪ'ᴍ ʜᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴍʏ ᴏᴡɴ ʀᴇᴜɴɪᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ.

Meaning it's somewhere Blake would have gone on her own. "You're attacking Cinder."

ɪ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ. Then the woman closed her scroll, swung the room's door open, and left as it keeled off of its hinge and onto the floor.

Was it a joke, from a murderer like her? A dodge, avoiding the question entirely? A denial, that she's avoiding the death such a confrontation would bring? An innocent statement of fact, like how Adam had hated violence too, at first?

A warning not to follow?

Blake lay down on the mattress. It was hard, and a spring poked her between her shoulders. No wonder the woman hadn't been sleeping when Blake arrived.

But Blake could sleep anywhere, and still be awake when she had to be. That, she got from cats.


	2. Another Day

Neo wasn't just good for killing. She knew how to save as well. How to protect.

She leaned back to dodge the ursa's paw, then stabbed it through the neck before the follow-through. It fell off the hill and into a snowbank, where the body dusted. Neo ran for a second Ursa, jumping over it and stabbing it through the neck.

_All right. So my protection is done by killing. What of it?_

This job in particular was rather unusual. She could let the grimm attack her charges. Had to, in fact. Just not these ones.

The third ursa turned and ran. Neo stood still, and thought of home. The ursa slowed, looked over its shoulder, and finally reversed direction.

_Negative emotion. Have a feast._

The Ursa reached her. Neo embedded her blade in its neck and ducked under the body, but couldn't yank it back out in time. The ursa tumbled to the cliff but dusted before falling off. Neo's umbrella fell through the evaporating grimm into the snow, where she picked it back up. For a thin blade against a fat grimm, the neck was the most reliable location, but her left hand was having trouble with some of the high strikes.

The second group of grimm would be approaching from the north, which was just fine. The odd thing about moving a group containing Ruby was, they would always move _towards_ the danger. Made it hard to corral them, but not impossible.

"Well, well, well. I was wondering why the grimm have been light recently."

Standing on the edge of the cliff was a man. He was dressed in muted colors, with a tattered red cape, and held a long sword casually in one hand. He had short black hair and stubble. Between his weapon and his height, he would barely need skill to keep Neo from getting close.

_Well, I still could. But long weapons are a problem._

"I don't remember seeing you before. What's your angle? And don't tell me you've been taking the same path as us by chance."

It's the most direct route from the docks to the kingdom. Was what Neo would say, if she could say anything at all. Instead she stood still and met his gaze. She was close to his height, since she was too light to fall through the nearly two feet of snow.

Even ten feet away, she could smell the alcohol on his breath.

Neo knew who this was. Qrow. The uncle. He would be an additional complication.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Qrow stepped forward. "You don't want anybody to know you're here. But you're killing grimm that approach. It puts me in a very awkward position, you see." He held his sword out towards her. "If you're on my side, I shouldn't kill you. But if you're on my side, you wouldn't stay so quiet all the time. You know, like now."

Neo took a step back and shook her head. If he didn't think about typing, he wouldn't demand quite so many answers out of her. And he was probably too drunk to think of typing.

"Now, listen. This non-intervention thing is working out real great, but eventually I have to sleep, and while I think the world of my rangers, I'm not about to take chances with them." He took another step forward, crunching into the snow. His sword nearly poked Neo's nose. "And you, I think, have to sleep some time too. So maybe we should work this out when we're both here to contribute, huh?"

Neo pointed her blade at the snow under her feet and carved some letters. He wouldn't ask as much if she communicated this slowly. It was a bit sloppy writing upside down, but she wrote out _travel safer together_.

"Mute?" Qrow grunted, studying Neo's face. She nodded.

"So let me guess. You don't get along with other people."

Neo held up her right hand. The scar tissue was bright on her skin.

Neo faintly made out the orange girl's yell from over in the forest. Qrow flicked his eyes between Neo and the trees down the hill. _Go on. See that they're all right._ The grimm she hadn't stopped would be reaching the four. It wasn't enough to pose a fight, besides maybe one alpha.

But it would get them where they needed to go.

Qrow shifted his stance and tried to point his sword towards Neo, only to realize he was already holding it there. "All right. We're approaching civilization. I don't want to see you again come nightfall." Then he turned and stepped down the cliff. Neo never heard him land.

_That went about as well as could be expected._

If he'd realized Neo had snuck a corpse into their camp earlier, he probably wouldn't have been so dismissive.

Nightfall. Ruby and her friends would arrive by nightfall. This group of grimm _should_ be enough. They only needed to go a bit further northeast.

Qrow didn't understand yet. And he was hiding his presence: Neo hadn't noticed him, so it was unlikely the students had. Would he reveal himself to stop them, once he saw where their path led?


	3. Sorry to Say

The shouting stopped.

Ruby had tried, in her own way, to teach Neo of friendship.

Of course, Neo already knew plenty. She knew from Roman that a friend was someone you spent time with whose interests align with yours. They were only a friend, though, if they weren't worth betraying. He hadn't said any of it in those words, but Neo never put much stock in words.

Sobs drifted up the stairs.

Still, Neo wasn't very good with people. Instead she did her best to be good _at_ people.

Neo took out her scroll. She opened _Grim Defense_ , looked at the level, and closed it again. Somehow, failing to prevent Vale's destruction at the claws and paws of nevermores and usras seemed wrong.

There was a sound on the stairs. Neo snuck into a bedroom and out its window, closing but not locking it behind her. It's possible someone would have heard a gust of wind through it when she left, but the bedroom door had been mostly closed, and it wasn't actively snowing. She jumped from the windowsill onto a convenient branch and waited. There wasn't much light on the grounds, and what light there was emanated from the first-floor windows.

The next window over from Neo's exit lit up. A girl, tears in her eyes, was showing Ruby inside. _The sister._ Then she left the huntress to the room.

Ruby sat down on the bed and took in the room. Then she took off her backpack and pulled some clothes out. Neo jumped from the branch onto her windowsill, before she saw anything Ruby wouldn't want. Ruby startled and stared at her through the window, calculating something. After a moment, she opened the window and let Neo in.

"Aren't you cold?" asked Ruby. Neo shook her head. It wasn't cold cold, just the cold that people got used to. And she hadn't been outside for more than a few minutes.

"Neo, what are you doing here?"

Neo got out her scroll. ɪ'ᴍ ʜᴇʀᴇ ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ.

"Yeah, well, I didn't know I'd be here until I was here. It's so..." Ruby stopped. "Jaune and... and Juniper. They're still downstairs telling stories about her. Her parents. I couldn't..." She looked down. "I mean, I knew, if I thought about it, I knew that they wouldn't know. I just never thought I'd be here telling them."

ᴘʏʀʀʜᴀ's ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs ᴀʀᴇ ʜᴇʀᴇ ɴᴏᴡ. Seeing Ruby's confusion, Neo continued. ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡɪʟʟ sᴜᴘᴘᴏʀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ɴɪᴋᴏs.

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "We're staying together, Neo. We're a team now. Ren even thought of a name for us. Orange, R R N J." She paused. "Jaune kept trying to think of one starting with J, but the best he could come up with was Journey."

Why was Ruby being so difficult? Couldn't she see? Neo decided to simplify it for her. ʀᴀɪɴ. ʀɴ.

Ruby reached a hand back to touch her scythe. "Neo, what do you expect me to do right now?"

Live past tomorrow. Isn't that what friends wish for each other? ɴᴏᴛ ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋ ᴄɪɴᴅᴇʀ. ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ʜᴇʀ ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ɴɪᴋᴏs ɢɪʀʟ ᴄᴀɴ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ.

Ruby frowned. "You really don't know me, do you. I'm here in mistral to save the world, if I can. And nothing is going to stop me from trying."

ɪ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ.

"Neo, you _killed_ Adam."

Neo cocked her head. _Yes, and?_

"You can't just... you can't kill people. I refuse to believe that's the best way to fix things."

ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡɪʟʟ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴄɪɴᴅᴇʀ

"I don't know. Whatever I have to. It's complicated."

Ruby threw her head back onto the bed, and held her hand up to block the ceiling light. "I thought there would be easy answers to it all, Neo. But here I am telling... listening to Jaune tell Pyrrha's family that she's dead. And then telling them I saw it happen and I couldn't stop it. If I could have killed Cinder to save Pyrrha..." She made a fist. "I wouldn't feel good, but I'd do it."

ʏᴏᴜ ᴄʟᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ᴛʜɪs. Neo held her scroll above Ruby's head so she could read it.

"The fact that I'm doing it anyway should tell you how much I think it has to be done."

It was Neo's turn to frown. Ruby looked over. "Say, what color are your eyes naturally?"

Neo's eyes were silver. When had that happened again? ʀᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘɪɴᴋ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪ'ᴍ ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀɴɢʀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴏʟ. sɪʟᴠᴇʀ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ᴀʀᴇ ʙᴀᴅ. ᴏᴛʜᴇʀᴡɪsᴇ, ᴡʜᴀᴛᴇᴠᴇʀ ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛ.

ᴡʜʏ

"What happened to your hand?"

ɪ ʟᴏsᴛ ᴛᴡᴏ ғɪɴɢᴇʀs ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ᴛʜ

"Yes, I can't see that!" interrupted Ruby. "How?"

ɢʀɪᴍᴍ

Ruby looked at the hand, then at Neo's face, and nodded.

"Neo, I have one more team name for you. Orange." She grabbed Neo's left wrist to keep it still and started typing letters into Neo's scroll. ʀʀɴɴᴊ

Neo yanked her hand away. ɪ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ.

Ruby sat up. "Then join us. You took on me and Roman at the same time with no Aura. You beat Yang and Adam. Imagine what you could do with all of us. Fighting for good."

Living is good. Comfortable living is better. Learning. Reading. Fighting is good, although grimm weren't nearly as fun. Neo was not, however, stupid enough to enter into a fight she would lose. A chance to lose, yes. Kept things interesting. Not a certainty.

Neo shook her head, opened the window, and climbed out. Her actions disturbed a bird on the windowsill, but the night was otherwise quiet. Neo didn't...

Ruby didn't get it. Couldn't, maybe. Why die when you can live? Why spend a week or longer in agony before falling, accomplishing nothing?

Neo kept to the trees to avoid tracks, and jumped to the edge of the Nikos estate. Their wall was necessarily high, given the rural location, but they had no property cameras. Neo jumped off the other side and dug into a snowdrift until she found her pack. She pulled out her sleeping bag and tucked in, inside her makeshift cave. She'd be all right sleeping: It was a very expensive sleeping bag. Aura drained, but all right. She didn't fully zip up. Between the grieving family and Neo being out of meds, there was every chance she'd be waking up quickly.

But she'd be all right. Ruby, on the other hand...

A gust of wind brought more snow on top of her mound, so she made sure to keep her opening clear. It also brought a bird down, tumbling through the air and onto the snow next to her.

Outside the walls of a rural estate at night in the middle of winter. Half-buried in snow with winds raging on by. "Hello, bird." Isolated enough for speech.

The bird righted itself and hopped closer to her. It was sleek and black. The kind of bird that's out of place in the wintertime. "Are you lonely?"

She reached into her pack and pulled out a multibar, crumbling a few pieces off the end, and spread them across the snow for the bird. The bird looked at the crumbs and back at her.

"She says she still wants to fight. To die. I don't get it. Why do people walk to their deaths?"

The bird flew away.


	4. The Comeback

Either Neo hadn't been off her meds in so long she didn't remember how they interacted with her emotions, or she underestimated just how much sadness a family of 3 could contain. Either way, the mistake cost her most of a night's rest, her aura, and a very expensive sleeping bag.

Grimm were curious creatures. While a human will do all it can to cling to life in any form, grimm seemed to just snap after a certain amount of damage. Lack of Aura, or soul, or whatever the reason, Grimm were up one moment and gone the next. Usually.

Neo shouldered her pack, dragged the beowolf to the estate's gate, and rang the intercom. She probably hadn't needed the prop, but she'd been wired on enough adrenaline that it had felt like a good idea and now she didn't want to waste it.

The screen flickered on, showing the face of the Nikos girl. She had bags under her eyes. "Yes, who's calling?"

Neo held up her scroll to the camera. She'd already written her message. ɪ ᴊᴜsᴛ sᴘᴇɴᴛ ғᴏᴜʀ ʜᴏᴜʀs ᴋɪʟʟɪɴɢ ᴘᴀᴄᴋs ᴏғ ʙᴇᴏᴡᴏʟᴠᴇs ɴᴇᴀʀ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙᴜɪʟᴅɪɴɢ. ɪ ᴀᴍ ᴜɴᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ sᴘᴇᴀᴋ. ᴍᴀʏ ɪ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ɪɴ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇsᴛ?

"Uhh..." said the Nikos.

Neo moved aside to show the camera her beowolf. It had taken five tries, but she managed to leave one alive while severing its spine. It whimpered softly in the snow, leaking blood.

 _Good a time as any._ Neo stabbed it through the chest. The body broke up and flaked away.

"I'll be right there," said the speaker. The camera shut off with a click. Neo took a breath, held, and released. Her eyes were threatening red and that wasn't the mood she needed to play.

The gate opened the sound of whirring servos, and the Nikos girl was on the other side. She was tall, although not as tall as her sister, and Ruby's age or a little older. She had blonde hair and wore a full bronze breastplate, a silver bracelet, a red skirt with inlaid bronze trim, and red pants into bronze-toed boots. It was, almost literally, the poor woman's Pyrrha Nikos outfit.

She looked tired and sad, obviously. She bowed and straightened. "Sorry. I was up. I was waiting. I knew that they'd come, I was so... I didn't know you were outside fighting. I'm sorry."

Neo got her scroll. ɪᴛ's ᴀʟʟ ʀ

A bird flapped past the wall's corner, shrieking alarm.

Neo dropped her scroll, drew her umbrella, and brought her right knee to the snow. Whatever was there, she wouldn't take the first blow.

With her umbrella blocking the corner, she had a full view of the Nikos girl take out a thick metal rod and hurl it past. mid-flight it grew as long as Neo was tall and popped a small blade out of the front end.

Standing back up, Neo saw a gored beowolf begin to fade away. _That was it? I needn't have worried._ And Neo knew enough about Pyrrha to recognize this girl's weapon as a discount copy.

The girl held up her hand. Her spear lept up from the ground and flew into it, collapsing as it did so. "Sorry about that. Missed one. Anyway. I'm Nubukha Nikos, Call me Nubu, and yes as in Pyrrha Nikos." She rattled it off like she was reading off a page. After a moment she looked down and sucked her lips into her mouth. _Realizing what she said._

Neo picked up her scroll. ᴘᴏʟʟʏ ᴄɪᴀʀᴀ. ɴɪᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ. Felt odd to identify as Polly in her pinks, but there was a small chance someone in mistral would know her name.

Nubu nodded and led Neo through the gateway, onto a winding path past rows of dead-looking plants and empty plots. "Welcome to house Nikos. It's been the seat of the Nikos line..." She faltered. "The seat of the Nikos line for eight generations." She looked at Neo and blinked a few times. "Eight generations."

Neo blushed and started typing, to avoid more eye contact. ɪ'ᴍ ʟᴏᴏᴋɪɴɢ ғᴏʀ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs ғʀᴏᴍ ᴠᴀʟᴇ.

"We just had visitors from Vale. We... Last night. They came and..." Nubu gulped. "They're still here. They stayed in the guest rooms." They were nearly to the front steps of house, a rectangular box in the center of the property.

 _Well, if it will get me out of this conversation._ ʀᴜʙʏ ᴡᴇɪss ʙʟᴀᴋᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴀɴɢ ғʀᴏᴍ ʙᴇᴀᴄᴏɴ.

"Yes, she's here." Nubu opened the front door. "Ruby is here. She's in the back. I can... I'm sorry about the beowolves. I was ready for them."

Nubu led Neo through an ornate two-story entrance hall to an almost-as-ornate hallway. They passed rooms with books, carved furnishings, and stained-glass windows. Just before the end of the hall, Nubu turned into an open door, Neo behind her.

The room was still fancy, but it looked newer and less expensive than the rest of the house. It contained some cabinets and a central table, about which Ruby and her friends sat.

Nubu bowed. "Miss Rose, this is Polly ci-"

"Neo!" Ruby jumped from her seat, smiling.

"Neo!" shouted Jaune, rising and drawing his sword.

Neo took a step backwards. Nubu's eyes flickered from person to person. People started talking all at once.

"Yang said she worked for Torchwick," said Jaune. "Put the sword away and sit down, Jaune," said Ruby. "Who's she? Do we have a problem?" asked The orange girl, Nora.

Neo couldn't hear individual words any more. Jaune stepped forward. Nora drew her hammer. The quiet boy drew a pistol and asked the the orange girl a question.

"BE QUIET!" shouted Nubu. Ruby, Jaune, and Nora's weapons flew out of their hands and into the room's walls. The silverware shot across the table, with a fork embedding itself in the room's back door. One of the room's cabinets screeched across the floor. Nubu herself was thrown out the door and into the hall, where she hit the opposite wall and fell over, clutching her stomach.

"Take it outside," came her voice from her crumpled form.

Neo nodded at Ruby and stepped out into the hallway. She offered Nubu a hand, but the girl waved it away, so Neo walked back out the front door. As she left, she saw RRNJ picking up their weapons.


	5. Talk to Me

"So, are you telling me that's _not_ Neopolitan?" Jaune gestured down the front steps to her.

"No, Jaune, it absolutely is her," answered Ruby, holding her scythe in a carefully neutral direction. "If she could talk she'd say the same thing."

"The same one that beat up Yang."

"Yes."

The group remained silent for a moment, although the beacon students had a choice in the matter. Neo's hand tensed around her umbrella hilt. Almost no aura. she would have to run if more than one attacked. Well, unless it was exactly two and one was Jaune.

"And she's on our side now because..."

"Jaune, when I saw Ironwood's ship crash and I went to take back the skies, I found two people on the ship. Neo helped me defeat Torchwick. She probably saved my life."

Neo wanted to join the conversation, but she couldn't risk letting go of her umbrella.

Ruby turned to her. "Neo, you killed Adam, right?"

 _She knows, she just wants the others to see._ Neo nodded.

The quiet boy spoke. "Where was the ship's crew?"

There was more silence. Neo resettled her stance, wide feet, umbrella down, ready to sweep up and pop open. The others readied strikes, each in their own way.

"She saved my life," said Ruby again, more quietly.

The front door opened behind the beacon students, and Nubu joined them on the porch. _She looks well enough to stand. Past that I'm not hopeful_.

Ruby walked down the stairs one by one. When she reached the bottom, she crunched through the snow for a few steps until she stood in front of Neo. She turned around to look up at her classmates.

"She's cold, Jaune. Can we go inside and get her something warm to drink?"

Neo was shivering. Low aura, probably.

"No weapons out in the house," ordered Nubu. Ruby nodded. Seeing it, Neo nodded as well.

Finally, Jaune and the orange girl nodded. The quiet boy holstered his guns and opened the door.

That's right. Ruby was Neo's friend. The mythical friend that would do anything she could. The kind of friend that can't exist. That was the kind of friend Ruby was.

Neo handed the girl her umbrella and strode up the steps. _Not like they would've attacked her anyway._

The rest filed in after her and the quiet boy. He led them back to the room where they'd been eating. Everyone fastidiously ignored the hall's cracked drywall where Nubu had impacted and the gouge in the wall where Jaune's sword had been flung.

Ren gestured to the head of the table, where Nora had been sitting. Neo took the seat. Soon the four beacon students were arrayed on either side of the table, with Ruby at Neo's right, and Jaune to her left. Nubu arrived after the rest, with a steaming teapot and a tray of cups and saucers.

"So!" Announced Ruby, standing up. "This meeting is now called to order! Ruby Rose presiding. From Beacon Academy, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, and Jaune Arc." She indicated each in turn. Nubu placed a teacup in front of Neo. "From Sanctum Academy, we have Nubukha Nikos." Nubu stepped to the back of the room. "And..."

Ruby gestured towards Neo. So she took out her scroll, typed, and turned it around to show them. sɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴡɴ, ɴᴜʙᴜ.

"Yes, Ma'am." With a bow, she took the last open seat at the foot of the table.

Neo typed again. ɪ ᴀᴍ ɴᴇᴏᴘᴏʟɪᴛᴀɴ. ғᴏʀᴍᴇʀ ᴀʟʟʏ ᴏғ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴ ᴛᴏʀᴄʜᴡɪᴄᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄɪɴᴅᴇʀ ғᴀʟʟ.

"Former?" asked Nora. Nubu wasn't sure what to make of it. Mistral residents may have heard Roman's name, but likely not Cinder's. She kept silent.

ʀᴜʙʏ ʀᴏsᴇ ʜᴇʟᴘs ᴍᴇ sᴘᴇᴀᴋ. ɪɴ ᴇxᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ɪ ʜᴇʟᴘ ʜᴇʀ sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ. Ruby read the message and made eye contact. What was behind those silver eyes Neo didn't know, but as for herself, she was thinking about the time she kicked Ruby off of an airship a thousand feet in the air.

_I said I was sorry. Said it out loud. That should count for something._

"So you kill people for Torchwick, then you start killing people for Ruby because she's giving you voice lessons?" Jaune addressed Neo, but he was looking at Ruby. "I feel like tomorrow she'll slit our throats while we sleep because someone taught her how to play the piano. Ruby, she's bad news, and I don't know why you can't see it."

Ruby dropped Neo's umbrella on the table. "There it is. She's harmless, Jaune." Neo chose not to correct her.

"If you protect her," began Nora, "Where have you been until now?"

ɪ ᴀᴍ ᴛʀʏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ғᴇʀᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴀ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡʜɪᴛᴇ ғᴀɴɢ. ᴅᴇᴄʀᴇᴀsᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇɴᴇᴍɪᴇs.

"With more killing?" asked Ren.

ɴᴏᴛ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴋɪʟʟɪɴɢ.

"And I'm helping her. I'm helping her not kill. We're trying to do better." Ruby reached out to Neo's right hand and squeezed her palm, choosing not to react at its shape.

"I can't help but be suspicious of someone that leaves dead mutilated bodies in our camp while most of us sleep." Was Jaune pouting?

ᴡʜᴇɴ sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴡᴀʟᴋs ᴘᴀsᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴅᴇғᴇɴsᴇs ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴏɴᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅɪᴇs ɪs ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇɴᴇᴍʏ ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ʏᴏᴜ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ sᴛᴀʀᴛ ᴛʀᴜsᴛɪɴɢ.

Jaune threw up his hands. "Yeah, well Neo, is it just that hard to actually tell people what you're up to, instead of expecting everybody to thank you for not killing them? You're really scraping the bottom of the human decency barrel here."

Neo typed ɪᴛ ɪs ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴀʀᴅ, raised her eyebrows, and pointed to her throat.

"Think about what she's been through, Jaune. Who she's been with. And what she can do."

"She must be very powerful if you'd risk this much to fight beside her," said Ren.

 _Fine._ It was always going to come down to this. ᴄʜᴏᴏsᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴀᴍᴘɪᴏɴ. Neo held her scroll out to the table. Five hands went up. Jaune, Ren, Nubu, and both of Nora's.

After a moment, Ren lowered his hand.

Jaune looked irrelevant in any form of combat. Nora was slow, but she had reach, and Neo didn't have enough aura to take a hit. Nubu was a complete unknown, but worst case scenario she'd either use that semblance to hurl Neo across the property or collapse before the fight began. Still, when she moved the weapons, she'd been thrown back herself... ʏᴏᴜ 3 ᴡɪʟʟ ᴅᴏ. 2 ʜᴏᴜʀs

"What, all of us? At once?" Nora waited for Neo to type her reply.

ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇɢᴀɪɴ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴀᴜʀᴀ ғɪʀsᴛ ɪɴ ᴄᴀsᴇ ɪ ɢᴇᴛ ʜɪᴛ.

Neo picked up her teacup and took a sip. It smelled like ginger, but tasted of oranges.


	6. Dance With Me

"Psst. Wake up."

Neo sat up and blinked her eyes open. She tried to pinch the bridge of her nose, but accidentally used her right hand.

"You said five minutes till. It's five minutes till."

Neo's scroll was on the floor next to the couch. ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴜʙʏ.

"Listen Neo. I've been thinking. What do you really gain by fighting them?"

Neo stood up. ɪ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ɪ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴍᴜᴄʜ. ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡɪʟʟ ʟɪsᴛᴇɴ ɪғ ᴛʜᴇʏ sᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴀᴍ sᴛʀᴏɴɢ. She began to stretch.

"Listen to you how?" Ruby crossed her arms.

Why lie? She'd just read it after the fight. ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪ sᴀʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ sᴛᴏᴘ ᴡʜᴀᴛ's ᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ.

"Neopolitan Jones." Ruby's voice was stern. Neo wasn't sure where she got the _Jones_ from. "You are my friend and I love you." Ruby put a palm on each of Neo's cheeks and squeezed her face. "But if that's all you're planning, you might as well leave now."

Neo looked around the study. The two were alone and the door was, at least mostly, closed. "And I-"

Nubu appeared in the doorway. "Miss Neopolitan. Your presence is requested outside."

_Almost._

Neo grabbed her umbrella and followed. Nubu led them out of the building, then through the front gate, and finally to a field next to the estate. Taking no chances with collateral damage. _Probably wise with Nora fighting._

"Hey, Ruby." Jaune was waiting with the others. "If any Grimm come, you and Ren will have to take care of them. Is that alright?"

Ruby spared a glance for Neo. "Of course."

"All right. Nubu, you're... good at fighting, right?"

Nubu bowed to him. "Yes, Master Arc. I came in fourth in last year's Mistral regional tournament." She pursed her lips. "Almost third."

"All right, don't worry about it. Let's form up and get ready."

The three stepped into the center of the field. Neo joined them, ten feet away. She couldn't concede range to Nora with no ranged weapon of her own.

"Miss Rose, give us a count, please."

"On the count of three." Her voice blared. "One. Two! Three!"

Neo brought up her umbrella and dashed forward, only to find herself tumbling back. _Of course._ She kept a grip of her umbrella as Nubu pushed on it, flying across the snow for another fifteen feet. She could see Nubu, crouching, braced on the ground. Neo's scroll popped out of her pocket and flew behind her. "Nora! High!" Yelled Jaune. She was already firing grenades into the air.

Neo opened her umbrella. The sudden resistance made it stop in midair. Nubu tumbled backwards, while Neo's momentum pivoted her past it in midair. She landed in a crouch, her umbrella above her, and stayed still while the grenades landed.

That cleared most of the snow. There was a gap between shells, so Neo closed her umbrella and ran forward again.

Nubu was up. She did something with her wristband and threw her spear, which started firing dust out the back end like a rocket. She ran behind it before being lifted into the air. She'd connected her spear to her wrist. _And a semblance to keep it aimed and steady._

Jaune had his sword out, right behind her. "Nora, flank!" The girl shot above Neo's head, spinning.

Nubu got to her first. Neo sidestepped her spear and kicked her as she flew past, but Nubu caught Neo's leg in her free right hand and pulled her off balance. Neo opened her umbrella again and held on as tight as she could. The deceleration tore Neo's foot from her grip and Nubu skidded to a stop. Neo landed on her feet.

Jaune arrived swinging. Neo kicked his sword hand, followed by his shield. He stumbled back.

Nubu and Nora were both behind her. Neo turned and stepped away, towards Jaune, to avoid a spear strike. Nora swung her hammer, but she thankfully did so on Neo's left side. Neo blocked with her umbrella.

Nubu stepped around her, away from Nora. Jaune was on his feet. They formed a triangle around Neo, with Nubu to her right and Jaune behind her.

"Nora, flush!" shouted Jaune. Nora swung her hammer again. Nubu retracted her spear's point and grabbed it around its middle like a staff. Neo blocked Nora with her umbrella and blocked one staff strike with her right hand, leaving her back open.

Jaune stabbed her back with his sword, sending Neo flying, losing grip of her umbrella. She lost more aura tumbling before she threw herself from the ground with her left hand, landing on her feet facing the group. Her eyes were pink, of course.

_Kicks worked with Jaune earlier. Can't fight three people with only two limbs._

Neo ran back towards them.

Again, Nubu was first. She stabbed with her staff, regrowing the spear tip. Neo leaned to dodge the strike and grabbed the spear in her hand. She dipped into a wide stance and brought the spear down on her leg, flipping Nubu over her head.

"Nora! Low!" Nora, now closing with Neo, struck the ground with her hammer. The shockwave popped Neo off of the ground, and in that moment she saw Jaune jumping over Nora's head for her. Neo would have to take the hit, fly into Nubu, and incapacitate her before the others closed again. She didn't have aura for another exchange, and she needed breathing room to retrieve her umbrella.

Jaune shrunk up behind his shield and impacted like a cannonball. Neo took the force on her right palm. She shot back, turning around and readying her fist. Nubu rose from the ground and turned to face her.

"Pyrrha, now!"

Nubu froze, her expression blank. Neo's punch landed. The girl's body spun a full circle before landing.

All four combatants were still.

"I'm done fighting," announced Nora. Neo checked Nubu's aura and found it intact. Neo grabbed her arm and tried to drag her to her feet. She wasn't tall enough to get her off of her knees, but Nubu finished standing up on her own, picked up her weapon, and walked back to her house.

Neo went looking for her scroll. The others followed Nubu inside.


	7. Please Please Please

Time on the road had its disadvantages. Well, it was mostly disadvantages. Even without the constant grimm attacks and tracking your quarry, there was no time to read.

Neo was almost done L in _Psychological Conditions and Disorders, Sixth Edition._ She'd read the fifth edition years ago. Not much had stuck with her. Mutism, depression, anxiety, psychopathy, sociopathy... the highlights.

Nubu bowed in the doorway. "The Nikos have been served. We may eat." Ren shut his book and put it back onto one of the shelves. Neo locked her scroll and followed the girl down the hall. She brought them to the same dining room where they'd met previously.

Jaune and Nora were already at the table, whispering about something. Ruby was entering the room through the back door, hands full with trays upon trays of food and dinnerware. "Is... this... everything... Nubu?"

"Yes, Miss Rose." Nubu slipped past Ruby. "Except for a few things. Excuse me a moment."

Ruby was arranging her haul onto the table. Neo helped unstack a few plates, typed on her scroll, and then spun it around for the table. ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ sᴀɪᴅ

"Sorry to disappoint you. Well, no I'm not," Nora hedged. "But we're still going and that's final."

ʏᴏᴜ'ʟʟ ʟᴏsᴇ. Nubu arrived with a tray of drinks and glasses.

"Eh, I'm no stranger to not winning," answered Jaune. "...Or to losing."

"We've got some tricks up our sleeve," added Ruby through a mouth full of chicken.

ᴇᴀᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴜs ɴᴜʙᴜ.

"Yes, Ma'am." Nubu bowed and sat down. Ruby had set a sixth plate, although Nubu hadn't brought herself a glass.

ɪ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴛ ᴄɪɴᴅᴇʀ. ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ʙᴀʀᴇʟʏ ғɪɢʜᴛ ʜᴇʀ. Neo could type and chew at the same time.

"Your style focuses on damage prevention and careful, decisive strikes," said Ren. "You are unsuited to battling a foe with high aura and range."

What would it take for them to see? Clearly Neo herself wasn't a good example. _Keep trying._ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴘʏʀʀʜᴀ ʙᴇᴀᴛ ᴄɪɴᴅᴇʀ?

Nobody spoke after Neo showed them her scroll. Nora even stopped eating.

"You have a lot to learn about dealing with people," Jaune said, his voice cold.

Neo hadn't heard any details about Pyrrha's death. She'd just assumed the tournament champion had been felled by the biggest threat in the area. Or maybe that dragon had eaten her. ᴡʜᴀᴛ?

"Don't go dredging that up to scare us. We don't scare so easy." Jaune's face disagreed with his words.

Ruby's didn't. "Yeah. We have each other. That's stronger than anything Cinder can throw at us."

Except maybe who Cinder had. Neo had never fought Mercury and Emerald one on one. Even if she had, even if she'd won, it wouldn't hold a candle to how she saw they could function together. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴄɪɴᴅᴇʀ's ᴛᴇᴀᴍ

"Well, that one's easy," said Nora. "We're better, of course."

Flippant and fake. Everything Neo said, everything she tried, and they rebuffed her. They ignored her. They just kept going, walking past safety to their death.

Neo was crying into her stew. _Keep trying. They have to crack._ She pulled her scroll back to her. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ

Ruby placed a hand on hers. "Neo, it will be all right."

Neo cleared what she was writing. Typing was getting difficult. ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴅɪᴇ

"THEN SAVE ME!" Ruby ordered. Neo flinched back into her chair. Emotions washed over Ruby's face in a sequence too fast to track.

"Ssh. It's all right." Ruby rose, lifted Neo from her seat, and wrapped her in her arms. "It's all right, Neo. Don't worry. We'll be alright."

Neo's mouth opened in a silent wail. It wasn't all right, and Neo couldn't remember when it had been. Was living alone in an apartment the good life? Buying every adjacent unit just to make sure nobody could hear? Running down the days with games and essays on grimm study, because the alternative was being near people, feeling the pressure behind her eyes build and build, asking over and over again why she went so long without fighting back?

And now Ruby Rose was leaving, to fight the battle Roman knew couldn't be won. Did they admire the Nikos girl so much they wanted to die like her?

"Neo," Ruby whispered into her hair. "I can't explain everything, but I can tell you that I can beat Cinder. I just need to get to her alive."

Neo sobbed into Ruby's shirt. It had been an embrace like this that had started it all. Landed her in this mess of doubt and commitment. Taken her away from Torchwick. Introduced her to Ruby Rose, the friend that couldn't exist.

_If she's already impossible, what's wrong with one more impossibility?_

Neo pulled away. Ruby had made her point. She didn't have to hug any more.

Fine. Fine. Neo picked up her napkin and wiped most of the tears and mucus from her face. Then she grabbed her scroll and wrote, ɴᴜʙᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴜs.

"Yes, Ma'am." Nubu twitched like she wanted to bow before she realized she was sitting down.

_Well, that was easier than I expected._

RRNNNJ. They made a very lopsided orange, all told. She'd been on Cinder's tournament team, even nominally led it. She'd felt affection towards Torchwick, while aware of his ultimate loyalties. But never had she lived, worked, and fought beside others. People that she might even be able to trust as her friends.

Jaune was right. she _did_ have a lot to learn about people.

Neo closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. The table was silent. All eyes were on her. She wasn't crying anymore, at least not too much.

Neo typed into her scroll, ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴘʏʀʀʜᴀ ʟɪᴋᴇ?

Nubu smiled. "Her third year at sanctum was my first. We met in the top 8 elimination. She offered to drop out for me. Staring down hundreds of thousands of Lien in endorsements, she just turns to me and says, you can win this and it will be a Nikos tradition."

Ren nodded. "While Jaune still serves as our team's capable leader, Pyrrha was our secret weapon to overcome any obstacle."

"After classes, after homework, Pyrrha would train me in combat. For an hour or longer, every night, I mean I was completely clueless. She knew she didn't need me, she barely needed anyone." Jaune's voice cracked. "But her kindness, and her belief in me. That's what kept me going."

"But she did need you, Jaune. She was so lonely when she arrived, and then she found you. Found Juniper. She made a home, accepting you as you were, and being accepted right back. And that bond you all shared..." Ruby had tears in her eyes. "It's why you're still together today."

"What was Pyrrha like?" Repeated Nora. "She was the teammate, the friend, the person in your life you always wanted but didn't ask for, because it would be too greedy. Pyrrha was great."

Neo smiled with them.

Greatness. It must have been nice.


	8. Universal Traveler

One, two, three.

Three knocks, and rest.

One, two, three.

Three knocks, and rest.

One, "Come in!"

Nubukha opened the door and curtsied with her free hand. Mother was still in bed. Father was in his chair at the table, reading.

Mother was first. Nubu moved to the bed and loaded her dishes onto her tray. She didn't see any new stains on the sheets, which was good. _She'll be up before the week's out. I've never seen her take longer._

_I've never seen her lose her daughter._

She placed the tray on the table and loaded father's dishes. Then she walked back to the center of the room. Unusual behavior. Mother looked up at her.

"I've been asked to go with Jaune and his friends when they leave. I would like to."

Father turned from his book. "Go where?"

"They are headed into Mistral City to find a terrorist organization that destroyed the communications tower in Vale."

Father scoffed. "Sounds like a job for huntsmen, not students. No."

Nubu squirmed under their joint gaze. "Father, they are capable."

"Haven has administrators for high-threat crime," he lectured. "Are they capable enough to speak?"

 _Well, actually..._ "I will bring that to their attention. However, they are in a unique position, both to identify and to"

"Let her go," interrupted Mother.

"Ianthe." Father turned to her, tired. "If Nub leaves..."

"We'll hire a maid." Mother waved her hand.

"I forbid it." He put his foot down. Father always did have an appreciation for the classics.

"They killed Pyrrha," Nubu whispered.

Her parents looked at each other. Mother was impatient. Father looked angrier.

"What. Do you think. That changes?" the man asked.

"Jaune's cause is pure. They honor Pyrrha's ideals, and her memory."

He rose from his chair. "And you don't honor her by completing your education?" He took two steps forward and leaned in. Nubu craned her neck. "You still have six years before you go off hunting the white fang, and using Pyrrha's name as a shortcut _dishonors_ her memory."

"I want to help," she told Father's chin.

"And what do you think you can do?" he asked. His breath stank of chicken curry and alcohol. Perhaps he figured out Nub diluted all his wine and started drinking more. Perhaps he would have drunk more anyway, today.

"Bruno," said Mother. "What will she be able to do in six years?"

Father pushed Nubu. Not hard. She stumbled into the wall, where she steadied herself.

He was already going back to his book. Nubu picked the dish tray up from the table and walked to the door. "I will leave meals for the week in the freezer." Then she turned around, curtsied, backed out of the room and closed the door.

So much to do. Best to cook for ten days, to be safe; it would be a week before Mother remembered to call out. Organize the fridge while she was there. Organize Father's new books. Pack. Clean, especially the guest rooms, and prepare clean sheets. Water the plants. Dose out Mother's medication. Shovel the pathways, in case guests came before it snowed again. Plan. The Nikos name could go far if she knew who in Mistral to contact.

She would have to tell Miss Rose that she couldn't leave until the morning. She would need to find the group a fast route to the city. That would have to come first. Miss Neopolitan would want to leave right away.

Nubu ran some numbers. If the weather didn't change, she could leave in about fourteen hours. Budget two more hours for things she forgot.

But the others could leave now. Nubu would catch up. She was practiced at it.

ᴇɴᴅ


End file.
